U.S. Department of Energy HALEU Consortium

HALEU Consortium
Several reactor systems supported under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program require HALEU, including X-energy’s XE-100 High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor and TerraPower’s Natrium Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor.

HALEU Allocation Process

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has created an allocation process for interested parties to request high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from the Department.  

DOE issued its first round of conditional commitments to five U.S. nuclear developers on April 9, 2025, to meet their near-term fuel needs.  

  • TRISO-X, LLC.
  • Kairos Power, LLC. 
  • Radiant Industries, Inc. 
  • Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC.
  • TerraPower, LLC. 

DOE plans to continue HALEU allocations to additional companies in the near future.  

The document below describes: (1) the process for interested parties to request HALEU from the Department of Energy (DOE); (2) the considerations and criteria that will be used to evaluate requests; (3) how requests for HALEU will be prioritized; (4) how HALEU will be provided and monitored; (5) and the statutory provisions relevant to distribution of HALEU. 

HALEU Consortium Background and Purpose

DOE established the HALEU Consortium to help inform activities carried out by the Department to secure a domestic supply of HALEU through the HALEU Availability Program.

Currently, there is a very limited domestic capacity to provide HALEU from either DOE or commercial sources. This presents a significant obstacle to the development and deployment of advanced reactors and increases the risk of private investment to develop an assured supply of HALEU or to support the infrastructure required to produce it.

The purposes of the HALEU Consortium include:

  • Provide the Secretary of Energy HALEU demand estimates for domestic commercial use.
  • Purchase HALEU made available to members for commercial use under the HALEU Availability Program.
  • Carry out demonstration projects using HALEU under the HALEU Availability Program.
  • Identify actionable opportunities to improve the reliability of the HALEU supply chain.

Read the Federal Register Notice of Establishment: High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Consortium.

Joining the HALEU Consortium

The HALEU Consortium is one way for DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy  to bring together individual members of the HALEU community and is intended to coordinate HALEU Consortium membership and consortium activities consistent with its purposes and objectives.

Membership is free and is open to U.S. entities involved in any stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. Any such entities that are interested in partnering with the Department to support HALEU availability for civilian domestic demonstration and commercial use are encouraged to apply for membership in the consortium. At its discretion, DOE may also accept requests for membership in the consortium from entities whose facilities are located in ally or partner nations.

Entities interested in becoming a member of the HALEU Consortium should send an email to HALEUConsortium@nuclear.energy.gov asking to join.

The request should explain the entity’s involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle and the entity’s interest in partnering with DOE. It should also include contact information for the entity’s representative(s), including name, affiliation, email, and phone number.

Upon receipt of a request and confirmation that the requestor is an entity engaged in the nuclear fuel cycle and eligible for membership, the Office of Nuclear Energy will notify the entity that it is a member of the consortium and list the entity as a member of the consortium on its website. Any events, travel, lodging, and related expenses are the responsibility of the member entity. 

If a member wishes to resign its membership, the member should send an email to HALEUConsortium@nuclear.energy.gov. Resignation from the consortium shall become effective immediately upon receipt by the Office of Nuclear Energy of notice of the entity’s wish to resign.